[SCRIPT]Black Market Goods Acquisition 1.01 (5/25/08)

[reinhart_menken]

Black Market Goods Acquisition 1.01
Updated: 5/25/08

Author: Reinhart Menken
Credits: Egosoft for making the game.
XTM team for inspiring me to script.
Cycrow for his wonderfully written library that I use.

Requires EMP mod (if you're using XTM, naturally you don't need to download it)

Download
Alternative Download
A vanilla and a XTM version is included (I mainly wrote it for XTM), as well as pure .xml format and .spk format. If you're playing with any other mods that add big ships (M6 or M7 and up) to the pirates, you can also use the XTM version.

Description
Ever wanted to buy those advance jumpdrive and jumpdrive targetting scanner, a Teladi shield shunt, maybe an afterburner or explorer software, but you can't because you're a pirate, or you can't be a pirate because you need a steady supply of those items?

Black market goods acquisition is a service provided by pirate syndicates allowing you to purchase goods and wares that you can't otherwise acquire because you're at war with certain races, provided that certain fees are paid for (they're said to be very hefty).

How? Who knows, bribery, extortion, blackmailing, whatever pirates do to float their boat. *wink* They can even acquire wares that are scarce in the market, and people could never figure out why or how. You'll be surprised how often stations just stash their goods away and sell to people willing to pay higher money. You cannot, however, acquire goods that no one produces to sell, such as kyon emitters, or other exotic type of goods and wares.

The Pirate Network Communication Device is an altered communication device pre-programmed with encryptions, codes, and protocols used by the various pirate syndicates, allowing you to establish contact with pirates remotely to obtain this service. They can be found in Pirate Bases.

How it works

Basically, buy a Pirate Network Communication Device from a Pirate Base, then use the command in your command menu - Black Market Goods Acquisition Service. You will need to specify what ware and how many, then wait in the same sector so the pirate ship can contact you and check you out. Wait for the confirmation, then wait for the pirates to fetch you the goods you need, meanwhile you can go off to do whatever business it is you do. Once the ware has been acquired you will be contacted again, asked to pay thrice the price of the ware (all those pirate work mentioned before aren't easy!), and the rendezvous will be given you, where you will meet to pirate to have the ware transported to you. If you don't have the credits when the pirate notify you, the pirate will depart with your goods still on their ship. *hint*

This script is most useful when you have a lot of scripts that add new wares to various races. The reason should obvious.

Known issues - voiced by an anonymous pirate

There isn't a cargo type check on us. We are not meant to be used as cargo service to acquire ores and other stupid stuff for you. If you get your money cheated, consider it fee for wasting our time.

There aren't sector check on us. So if you call us from a hostile sector, we will come, and if we get destroyed, we consider that you're really only wasting your time - now you'll have to call another one.

You will have to be on the same ship that meet us at the rendezvous.

That's all the known issue I remember for now. End known issues.

Technical Information
Command Slot: <t id="644">COMMAND_TYPE_PIRACY_51</t>
Text File: 7006
EMP Ware: 28;0;0;0;0;312;12363;0;65735;1;1;0;65735;10000;0;0;SS_WARE_SW_CUSTOM12_12;

If anyone has any issue with the Megaupload hosting service, let me know and I'll host it somewhere else (like rapidshare). Plus, I'll be gone in two weeks, so updates may come slowly. Known issues are on my to-do list of things to add/fix, so...enjoy the script and please leave any responses you might have!

[CraterFace]

Thanks! This will REALLY come in handy in my game.

EDIT: Gone from Megaupload

[reinhart_menken]

WHAT?! Government treachery from the Argons and all races! End dramatic moment Anyways, I've uploaded it to rapidshare and you can find it at the alternative download link in the main post (though I downloaded it from megaupload successfully.) I guess some browsers or download managers just don't catch the download path right or at the right time; I've had that happen to me too. Cheers!

I thought this would be a nice service because I required it, and if someone as laid back as I am would require it then a lot of other people prolly do too Although in my game it cost only twice the amount I upped it to thrice because all the people in the XTM script forum that posted (which was two ) suggested that it was too easy =/ Well actually they suggested that it be higher and dependent on required race notoriety, but alas I did not find a script command that detects the required notoriety for specific goods.

[Deathwalker1701]

I think theres a conflict with pilot aiIII because when IO installed this at first did not get the Black Market Goods Acquisition Service stared it in the script editor but when you use it you get the squadron selection list in pilot aiIII.

[reinhart_menken]

Hmm, I'll install Pilot AI III soon and check. I checked the community scripts sticky first but...why don't people just add their awesome script into the community listing and stop being shy (when their scripts are so widely use)

Edit: Ah, there we go, the least I can tell is we're using the same command slot as I listed in the OP. I'll check for other potential incompatibilities and update a new version.

Update: Updated to version 1.01 to avoid incompatibility with Pilot AI III as well as potential conflict with XTM (plugin manager says they use the same ware, but different numbers, so...I don't know ). The download links in the first post are updated accordingly. You will need to get the Communication Device again - next time I will attempt to write an additional script to circumvent such problem.

Edit 2: Crap I forgot the credits =( (for my own defense, I had a lot of information to cram in =/) Sorry Cycrow!

[dralk]

Any plans on releasing it as a spk?

[tai1980]

Any plans on releasing it as a spk?

the spk files are inside the zipped file

[dralk]

thanks for the reply.

[Imotepchief]

Everything worked fine up untill delivery.
I got to the collection point but how do I get the ship to transfer my item??
Also after they have taken my money and given me the location they send another message after saying that i don't have enough cash to compleate transaction even tho they have my money already.